Using the Xerox 7300 (postscript) under Windows 8 / 8.1 (32bit or 64bit)

Note : This method also works in Window 10

I have been happily working with Windows XP for some years now, and felt no real need to upgrade when Vista and Windows 7 came along, since I was quite satisfied with everything under XP. However, with the advent of Windows 8 and the announcement that XP would soon no longer be supported, I thought it was time to investigate moving forward. This decision presented more challenges than I might have imagined, since an early discovery when I started to work with Windows 8 was that the Xerox 7300 series of printers is not supported. The Phaser 7400 series is the first of its type to have drivers included in the extended Win8 list. I tried these drivers with the 7300, but there were many problems and they clearly were not suitable. I spent a lot of time researching the situation, and I'm pleased to say that I've achieved a satisfactory solution which gives access to all the 7300's features, although not through the standard GUI with which you may well be familiar from XP or Windows 7. The key to the solution lay in the fact that the Phaser 7300 is built around an Oki print engine.

Installing the printer requires a little patience, especially if you need the 7300's full facilities, but it's worth the effort, and it will work fine when you've done it. The following description explains how I installed my 7300s under Windows 8. I don't claim to know very much about Windows 8, so you may well know easier ways to achieve the same ends - please feel free to share them if you do! What I do know though, is that my Xerox 7300s now work fine with the latest Windows operating system, which should extend their useful life significantly.

Installing the Xerox 7300 (postscript) under Windows 8 / 8.1

Step 1 - "Add a Printer"

(Note : This installation will work with both 32bit and 64bit systems.)

Throughout this description, I am using the conventional desktop in Windows 8 (not the "Modern UI"), which I suspect most folk using a 7300 will also be doing. You can click on the screen shots to see a larger image.It's a good idea to have the printer connected and switched on before starting the installation, as this simplifies certain areas; although it's not actually essential, it's recommended.

As you would expect, the first step is to open the Printers section of the Control Panel, and choose "Add a Printer"

Step 2

If the printer is connected and on, then the scan will find it and enter its IP address automatically (for networked printers). With the name of the 7300 highlighted, choose NEXT. If the printer isn't on, (not recommended) click "The printer that I want isn't listed" to move to the next screen. You'll have to enter the IP configuration manually.

Step 3

As the 7300 does not appear in Windows 8's basic list, you are presented with a menu to choose the driver. First you need to click the "Windows Update" button, and wait for a more detailed list of drivers to be downloaded. This may take some time if your connection is not very fast (like mine!).

Step 4

Once the full list has arrived, scroll down the "Manufacturer" list to find Oki, then in the list of printers which appears, choose the OKI C9300 PS (MS) (Oki) driver. It's important to choose the (Oki) version, not the (Microsoft) one, as the latter does not work. Click NEXT.

Step 5

As the printer is installed, you'll be asked to provide information regarding, name, sharing etc.

Complete these according to your own situation / requirements.

Step 6

Once the installation is complete, there is the option to print a test page. This is not a very reliable indicator, however, since I found plenty of drivers which produced a successful test page, but then went on to produce rubbish when confronted with a proper print job!

Step 7

If all has gone well, you can now return to the Printers window, right click on the 7300's icon, (its name will depend on what you chose in step 5) then choose Run as Administrator - Properties.

Step 8

- In this dialogue box you can configure the driver for the particular options your 7300 has. However, in its present form, the driver will not offer the SRA3 paper size, nor the Enhanced (600x2400) print quality. If you do not need these, then you should now have a working printer (auto tray selection only). All settings have to be done via the PS dialogue, though. The old Xerox GUI is no longer available. If you do want the extra facilities .... please continue.

First of all, download this modified postscript printer driver file:(Right click and choose "save link as" - don't change the file name, or it will not work)(Last update Version 2.3 26/02/13 22:00 )

This modified file will add most of the missing functionality to the original Oki driver. I hope to refine this driver further, to remove more of the irrelevant code, but that will need further time. For now, it will add both the missing SRA3 paper size and the Enhanced print quality mode.

The enhanced security features in Windows 8 make changing system files more difficult, so before you can replace the driver, you will need to download the following small file and place it on your desktop.(Right click and choose "save link as")

In the Advanced tab, choose New Driver and select any other driver you see there - it doesn't matter what. Click apply, then click New Driver again, this time selecting the OKI C9300. This step ensures that the modified driver becomes active. Next, click the Printing Defaults button, then Advanced.

(Right click and choose "save link as")If you want to remove the Take Ownership feature after completing the installation, copy the file above to the desktop, right click and choose Merge. You can delete the desktop files if you wish, once you've removed the feature.

Step 13

Here, you will now be able to select Enhanced (600x2400) print quality, and under the Device Settings tab, the SRA3 paper size can now be selected.

Job done!

Custom Paper Sizes - Xerox 7300 / Windows 8 / 8.1 - Known Issue

I am aware that the driver above does not work with the 7300's custom paper size option. I have yet to look into this problem properly, but I've needed the facility myself a couple of times recently and I therefore devised a work-around solution which involves modifying the driver to provide the specific size you want to use. You set the size on the 7300 in the usual way, and choose the appropriate newly-included size from the driver menu.

If you have a specific custom paper size which you would like to use on a Xerox 7300 / Windows 8 system using my driver above, then, if you send me an email (contact form on this page) with the precise dimensions of your custom size in millimetres (not inches!) I can provide you with a bespoke driver that will include that size in the list of paper sizes which it offers.

As and when time permits, I'll endeavour to get to the bottom of why the custom paper size feature in the driver isn't working; meanwhile the offer above stands if you need this facility.